HB 197: "An Act relating to the duties of the commissioner of natural resources; relating to agriculture; and relating to community seed libraries."
00 HOUSE BILL NO. 197 01 "An Act relating to the duties of the commissioner of natural resources; relating to 02 agriculture; and relating to community seed libraries." 03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04 * Section 1. AS 03.05.010(a) is amended to read: 05 (a) The commissioner of natural resources shall 06 (1) direct, administer, and supervise promotional and experimental 07 work, extension services, and agricultural projects for the purpose of promoting and 08 developing commercial and noncommercial [THE] agricultural industry and 09 production in [WITHIN] the state, including community seed libraries under 10 AS 03.20.110 and [SUCH FIELDS AS] horticulture, dairying, cattle raising, fur 11 farming, grain production, vegetable production, and [DEVELOPMENT OF OTHER] 12 agricultural products; 13 (2) procure and preserve all information pertaining to developing the 14 [DEVELOPMENT OF THE] agricultural industry in the state and disseminate that
01 information to the public; 02 (3) assist prospective settlers and others [DESIRING] to engage in the 03 agricultural industry in the state by providing [WITH] information about 04 [CONCERNING AREAS SUITABLE FOR AGRICULTURE AND OTHER] 05 activities and programs essential to developing the [DEVELOPMENT OF THE] 06 agricultural industry and areas in the state that are suitable for agriculture; 07 (4) review the marketing, financing, transportation, and development 08 of agricultural products in [INSIDE] the state [INCLUDING TRANSPORTATION], 09 with special emphasis upon local production, and negotiate for the marketing of 10 agricultural products of the state with federal and state agencies operating in the state; 11 (5) adopt regulations, including requirements, procedures, and 12 fees for registering, inspecting, and testing [REGULATE AND CONTROL THE 13 ENTRY INTO THE STATE AND THE TRANSPORTATION, SALE, OR USE 14 INSIDE THE STATE OF] plants, seeds, vegetables, shell eggs, fruits and berries, 15 nursery stock, animal feeds, remedies and mineral supplements, fertilizers, and 16 agricultural chemicals, and for regulating and controlling the entry into the state 17 and the transportation, sale, or use in the state of plants, seeds, vegetables, shell 18 eggs, fruits and berries, nursery stock, animal feeds, remedies and mineral 19 supplements, fertilizers, and agricultural chemicals, [IN ORDER] to prevent the 20 spread of pests, diseases, or toxic substances injurious to the public interest [,] and 21 [TO] protect the agricultural industry against fraud, deception, and misrepresentation; 22 [IN THIS CONNECTION THE COMMISSIONER MAY REQUIRE 23 REGISTRATION, INSPECTION, AND TESTING, AND ESTABLISH 24 PROCEDURES AND FEES;] 25 (6) regulate the farming of elk in a manner similar to the manner in 26 which the commissioner regulates domestic animals and livestock, to the extent that is 27 appropriate; 28 (7) subject to AS 03.20.110, regulate community seed libraries 29 [REPEALED]. 30 * Sec. 2. AS 03.05.030 is amended to read: 31 Sec. 03.05.030. Rules for grading and classification of agricultural
01 products. Subject to (b) of this section, the [THE] commissioner may adopt rules, 02 regulations, and procedures requiring the classification, grading, and inspection of 03 agricultural products before they are sold or offered for sale for general consumption 04 [BEFORE THEY ARE SOLD], and requiring the marking or labeling of a [ANY] 05 sack, box, carton, or other container of an agricultural product [PRODUCTS] to show 06 the kind, grade, or other prescribed classification of the container's contents. 07 * Sec. 3. AS 03.05.030 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 08 (b) A rule, regulation, or procedure adopted under (a) of this section does not 09 apply to giving or exchanging seed through a community seed library under 10 AS 03.20.110(a), unless the seed 11 (1) does not comply with the requirements of AS 03.20.110; 12 (2) contains seed of a patented, protected, or proprietary variety used 13 without permission of the patent or certificate holder of the intellectual property 14 associated with the variety; 15 (3) has been misrepresented as seed classified, graded, or inspected 16 under (a) of this section; or 17 (4) contains prohibited or restricted weed seed or seed from a species 18 the department has determined is noxious. 19 * Sec. 4. AS 03.20 is amended by adding new sections to read: 20 Article 1A. Community Seed Libraries. 21 Sec. 03.20.110. Community seed libraries. (a) A person may establish a 22 community seed library for individual giving or exchange of seed that is harvested 23 from a plant grown in the state and is untreated with a substance toxic to humans, 24 animals, or pollinating insects, for home, educational, charitable, or personal 25 noncommercial use in the state. 26 (b) A person in the state may give or exchange seed under (a) of this section to 27 another person in the state through a community seed library in a quantity that, for 28 each person who receives the seed, may not exceed 100 grams of one variety in a 29 period of 12 consecutive months. 30 (c) Seed given, exchanged, or offered for giving or exchange under (b) of this 31 section must be packaged for sale and labeled with
01 (1) the seed's species and variety; 02 (2) the seller's name and address; 03 (3) the year the seed was packaged for sale; 04 (4) the weight of the packaged contents; and 05 (5) the statement "Not authorized for commercial use and not 06 classified, graded, or inspected by the State of Alaska." 07 (d) Nothing in this section authorizes a person to 08 (1) violate 7 U.S.C. 57 (Plant Variety Protection Act of 1970); 09 (2) exchange, distribute, or receive a seed patented under 35 U.S.C. 15 10 (Plant Patent Act of 1930). 11 (e) In this section, "exchange" means buy, sell, or barter. 12 Sec. 03.20.120. Online notice of seed available for noncommercial sharing. 13 A person involved in noncommercial sharing of seed may register online with the 14 department under AS 44.37.030(7) and submit to the department information, 15 including the person's name, telephone number, and electronic mail address, and the 16 location where the person shares seed, for publication on the department's Internet 17 website. 18 * Sec. 5. AS 03.22.020 is amended to read: 19 Sec. 03.22.020. Purpose of center. The objectives of the plant materials 20 center, in cooperation with the college or department of the University of Alaska 21 responsible for the Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station, are to 22 (1) assemble, evaluate, select, and increase plant materials needed in 23 soil and water conservation, agriculture, and industry, and maintain genetic purity of 24 these materials; 25 (2) increase promising plant materials for field scale testing; 26 (3) test the promising materials in field plantings on sites that represent 27 soil and climatic conditions not found at the center; 28 (4) maintain and provide for increase of basic seed stocks of plant 29 materials for agricultural and conservation interests; 30 (5) make seed and plant materials available, for a fee if necessary, in 31 such a manner as to avoid monopolistic control of basic stocks of these materials and
01 encourage the development of a seed industry and community seed libraries under 02 AS 03.20.110; 03 (6) support but not duplicate activities carried on by state or federally 04 funded research programs in the state; 05 (7) prepare, publish, and disseminate a summary report on all studies 06 as they are completed. 07 * Sec. 6. AS 44.37.030 is amended to read: 08 Sec. 44.37.030. Duties of department with respect to agriculture. The 09 Department of Natural Resources shall 10 (1) obtain and publish [GET AND DISTRIBUTE] information 11 electronically and in print on subjects connected with agriculture, including 12 community seed libraries under AS 03.20.110; 13 (2) control and regulate the entry and transportation of seeds, plants, 14 and other horticultural products; 15 (3) control and eradicate the spread of pests injurious to plants, trees, 16 vegetables, livestock, poultry; 17 (4) aid in developing used and unused agricultural resources; and 18 (5) experiment and determine practical methods of growing, 19 processing, soil analysis, eradication of obnoxious weeds, control of insects, and 20 cheaper and more satisfactory methods of land clearing. 21 * Sec. 7. AS 44.37.030 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 22 (b) The Department of Natural Resources may 23 (1) advise persons who establish or operate a community seed library 24 under AS 03.20.110; and 25 (2) post on the department's Internet website and annually update the 26 following: 27 (A) information about noncommercial sharing of seed, 28 including information about community seed libraries under AS 03.20.110, 29 seed library locations, seed library facilitators, and best practices for 30 noncommercial sharing of seed; 31 (B) an online registration form for a person involved in
01 noncommercial sharing of seed to submit to the department for publication, 02 without a fee, information under AS 03.20.120; 03 (C) information provided for publication under (B) of this 04 paragraph.